Have to go south to get around Douglas Island, then northward to Lynn Canal. Lynn Canal water is green due to all the glacier melt rivers entering. On the cruise we saw Mendenhall, Herbert and Eagle Glacier.
Glaciers Leaving JuneauGlaciers Leaving Juneau
Went on east side of shelter island hoping to see whales but only spouts. Anchored in St James Bay with nice mountain views.
Water Dog Anchored At Saint Jaimes Bay
Deer Flies kept us inside as they were bad. We took dogs a shore but no hiking. Did a run around on the dinghy and then had dinner.
No Cell. Guys caught one crab.
Dinner with A View On Fly Bridge, Jeanette And Albert
June 27th St James Bay to Haines
Saint James Bay To Haines
We have heard Skagway Small Boat Harbor is not the greatest place to stay so we decided to stay in Haines Harbor and take fast ferry to Skagway for a day trip. LONG day..super slow cruise speed. Some wind on and off but nice day with great sunny weather. Got to Haines maybe 7 o’clock but last 45 minutes we were treated to orca pod hanging along coast just out of Haines. Lots of blows and looks but not any acrobatics. Nice finish to the day.
Orca On Way In To Haines HarborOrca On Way In To Haines Harbor
That night Albert bought 5 more crabs from a crabber. We kept them in water for 24 hours but did not realize until too late that the water is very low salinity due to river influx and crabs do not like so 24 hours later they were a bit limp. Went to dinner at Pilot Light restaurant in Haines and it was good.
Haines Harbor
Took a short walk around town and checked out the old soldiers pavilion and housing left over from 1902 time frame when the white buildings of Fort William H. Seward where built and are a distinctive landmark of Haines. Decommissioned in 1947, the fort was bought by a group of war veterans with hopes of creating an arts and commerce community. The buildings are now privately owned homes, accommodations, restaurants, galleries, and shops.
Fort William H. Seward Fort William H. Seward Building Converted To Carving Shed
June 28th Haines
We decided to Hike to Mt Riley from harbor by going down FAA Rd and then taking a right on City Water Supply Access road right before the dump, also called Lily Lake Trail. A small distance before Lilly Lake on the access road you will see the small trail access sign for narrow trail up to top of Mt Riley. We then returned via the Battery Point trail back to the marina.
Mount Riley Hike from Small Boat Harbor
Hike up and back on Battery point loop trail was 13 miles. We did not know it was gonna be that long so did not bring enough water. All dehydrated at end and were tired! Alex sprained ankle so was slow last 1/3 of hike. On road back from battery point found Portage Bay campground with WATER yeah!.
Patty Posing on water front Sculptor At Start Of HikeMount Riley Trail Sign Start on Lilly Lake Access RoadMt Riley Trail Intersection With Battery Point TrailView From Top Of Mt Riley
June 29th Haines – Skagway White Pass Railroad
Took fast ferry at 9am to Skagway small boat harbor. Saw a humpback in the bay near Haines. 40 minute cruise to Skagway. Quick walk about town then White Pass Railroad ride.
Skagway Small Boat Harbor Skagway White Pass Railroad Station White Pass Railroad White Pass Railroad
We had done before but in rain. We had another bright sunny day with few clouds but some haze. Nice trip. Got back 2:45pm or so with plan to catch 4 o’clock ferry. Stopped at brewery for beers then caught ferry home. Went out to eat at Fireweed restaurant back at Haines and it was good.
Juneau turned out to be one of our favorite stops due to the great hiking with in walking distance right above Aurora Harbor on the Perseverance Trail system. It also is a great place to provision with bulk goods/liquor at the COSTCO and Fred Myers. Fred Myers also has frozen herring for bait, 1/3 price of other places, for Halibut fishing in the far right front side of store which you cant find unless you ask.
Also for breakfast/lunch the Sand Piper cafe has excellent food and breakfast all day long.
Decided to leave Petersburg after we got back from glacier tour to knock off some of the 105 miles to Juneau by anchoring over night once we round Cape Fanshaw. Got back just about on the money at 12:30pm from glacier trip in Petersburg. We said our good byes, walked dogs, paid up set sail around 1:30pm. Had a nice cruise across Fredrickson Sound and then Stephen’s passage. These are big bodies of water with the potential to be really nasty but today was smooth as a baby’s butt. One whale and 2 or maybe 3 glacier sightings…more goodness. The whale was just sitting there with one fin stuck in the air.
Whale Just Holding Up Flipper
Got to anchorage around 4pm and anchored directly east of the Duck Point marker in 6 fathoms in nice sand/mud bottom as shown below at the elbow in the track from Water Dog. Was slightly exposed from the SW but we had no problems with waves during the night.
Duck point Anchorage
Sat a bit, showered, ate amazing crab fried rice, a bit of tv and to bed. Juneau tomorrow. Palm Beach sans Alex for me the day after and Alex moves into Juneau for a week while I visit mom. Mom stable medically but quality of life is not good. Needs to get better. Love you mom. Terra used the poop deck to urinate 3 times. Holly held out. 1st time we tried not launching dinghy and they seemed fine. A big key was a good pathway on rubber mats to the front deck so Terra does not slip on way out.
June 16th Duck Point to Juneau
Nice flat calm morning. Saw two sets of whales breaching a few miles away and some backs nearer. Also had nice pod of dal’s porpoise surf the bow for a bit. Long day though 75 miles. Got here around 2pm seemed later as we had gotten up at 4pm and left at 6am. Got a good spot in Aurora harbor.
Water Dog At Juneau Aurora Harbor
Took a nice walk to gold creek park, through town, up to chicken ridge with tiny cool houses and a historical house and the back to boat.
I fly out tomorrow. Alex will stay and work on boat and take care of doggies. ?
June 17-24th
PJS flew to Florida for mom visit. Alex stayed with dogs in Juneau. Hiked a bunch of trails, socialized with neighbor’s Jill and Doug whom are on the dock in a motor sail boat behind us..
Had a dinner with Mana Kai and Grand QTR folks out and in (lasagna on our boat). Last day I think Alex changed every fuel filter possible in engine room, 13 total! Got a lot of filters with two main’s and two Genny’s with dual primary’s and one on engine filter on each and one fuel polishing filter.
Water Dog Fuel Filter Change
Albert and Jeanette started their visit on the 23 rd and visited for 10 days or so.
Albert, Jeanette and Alex Perseverance Trail
There are great hiking trails above the marina if you walk up through the cemetery to Cope Park and take stairs next to the dog park and then through neighborhood to Basin Road.
Cemetery Directly Above MarinaCope Park EntranceBasin Road Neighborhood
On the upper portion of Basin Road you will find Perseverence Trail and many other trail heads.
Basin Road Bridge To Trail Heads
Perseverance Trail is an old mining road so is a nice easy wide graded walk where you see a nice water fall about 1 mile up. Ended up walking up Perseverance Trail to Red Mill Trail to Glory Hole where their are great views. Took the Mount Juneau Hike a few day’s later. Very nice views but the trail is very narrow and footing hidden by plants at the bottom. Would call this a pretty tough hike with 3000 ft elevation so take water, lunch and good hiking shoes!
Juneau Trails Map Above Marina Perseverance Trail Red Mill Trail Bridge To Glory HoleGlory Hole Trail StartGlory Hole View At Old Mine Site
Glory Hole Trail dead ends at a wooden fenced stop!
Terra and Holly At End Of Glory Hole TrailMount Juneau Trail Start
The beginning of the trail has a lot of vegetation so it is hard to see where to put your feet, the entire trail is very narrow so watch your footing.
Mount Juneau Trail Start
The view from the top of Juneau and surrounding area is spectacular!
Mount Juneau Trail View from Top With Cruise shipsAlbert and Jeanette Mount Juneau Trail TopEast View Top Of Juneau Trail
At the top some one is the past tried to start putting a cable car up to the point but only left a small building and some cables.
Terra At Old Abandoned Shack Mt Juneau Trail Top
June 25th-27th Juneau Mendenhall Glacier Hike
Monday as PJS flies back to Juneau, I arrived late on 10:17 flight. Had a small bit of wait to get ride to marina but accomplished.
Tuesday we stayed to go visit Mendenhall Glacier.
We rented a car (rent a wreck) and drove to do west glacier trail. Long walk with some climbing with final destination the base of glacier via West Glacier Trail. On the map below you take the Cairn Route on the right fork of West Glacier Trail where you see the red dots for the Ice Extent Cairns.
West Glacier Trail With Cairn Route Map
The trail is pretty easy going along the edge of the lake below the glacier until you get to the end where you have to do a little rock scrambling to get over a ridge. Along the way are a dozen or so cairn markers marking the spots where the glacier used to be in years past as it recedes to it’s current position.
Patty, Albert, Jeanette and Holly at Beginning Of West TrailRock Scramble, Top of Picture, At Ridge Towards End Of TrailTerra and Holley On Top Of Ridge
Once you get near glacier you have have to walk a ways down the left side on muddy unstable paths to get the the edge of the glacier itself.
Terra on Muddy Trail Skirting Edge Left Side Of Glacier
Collected some glacier water for ice. Touched and walked on glacier. Fun time had by all. Long walk though.
Holly, Alex, Patty and Terra Edge Of GlacierAlex and Holly Made it, Yeah!Holly and Jeanette At GlacierHolly and Albert Albert Waiting For Glacier Edge To Fall On Them
Left a bit late to catch ideal tide current but had some current the entire way. Easy passage to Petersburg. No rain but no sun either.
Wrangell Channel To PetersBurg
In Petersburg Harbor we ended up in a slip next to the Westerly which was getting ready to go out as a fish tender for the opening of salmon season. Nice guy’s and got some good fishing tips from them.
F/V Westerly Next To water Dog
Walked 6 miles from marina to the sandy beach park on the muskeg boardwalk trails above town. Muskeg seems to be the Alaskan word for swamps. Walked back along sandy beach road and saw nice houses.
William Musson Trail Start Above Town Muskeg Boardwalk Trail Sandy Beach Park Entrance
We then took a nice walk down south of marina along to Sons Of Norway Hall along shoreline board walk.
Sing Lee Alley Sons Of Norway Building
Then hooked a left around the back of the hall for a nice walk along a board walk road behind the hall.
Sons Of Norway Building From BehindBirch Street Board Plank Road Behind Sons Of Norway Building
Grand QTR invited us over for dinner which was pork tenderloin, grilled vegetables and I made grain mix from Trader Joes with peas. Nice dinner and company.
June 14th
Grand QTR left heading to Juneau as they have company coming. We planned 2-3 nights in Petersburg. 2nd night Mana Kai with Jeff and Darlene arrived and were on same dock. They invited us for happy hour and we had a nice time. Had a great breakfast at Salty Pantry, we highly recommend a stop there. Got a to go Cuban Sandwich so we did not need any dinner, looked to good to pass up!
The Salty Pantry, Great Breakfast and Lunch
Arranged to take La Conte Glacier boat tour with the same guy Claudette and Bob had gone for the 15th at 8:30 Am
June 15th
Glacier tour and Leave toward Juneau Duck Point just behind Cape Fanshaw between Whitney island and the cape.
So far the Glacier 4 hour tour with Alaska Passages Adventures
(Captain Scott Harvey) was the highlight. Also for me also Pruth Bay,
Klewnuggit, Petersburg…following those top ten Klemtu
Anyhow the cruise to La Conte Glacier in a 28′ aluminum boat with nice man was truly a lifetime experience. Weaving in and out of tiny medium to huge clear, turquoise or deep blue and /or dirty ICE BERGS ?
Would say that with so many berg bits large and small in the water, at least the day we went, I would not advise taking your larger boat up to this glacier.
Jeff, Darlene, Patty and Scott the GuideOne of Many Ice Berg Bits On The Way In
Then arrived at the glacier…2 miles wide 200 feet or so high…crammed into a canyon and truly a moving river of ice 30 meters per DAY! Wonderful.
Patty and Alex at La Conte Glacier
Got to glacier and watched ice swirl under waterfall. Obviously current. Scott explained this is because there is a BIG river with BIG water dumping into the bay under the glacier. We saw small and large calving and small and one HUGE shooter berg come up from the bottom.
La Conte Glacier Peaks On La Conte Glacier Bottom Dirty Part Of Shooter BergTop Blue Part Of Shooter Berg
He had video of a monster berg coming up which created a 20 foot wave he had to jump with his boat. Very very fun for ALL. We shared the excursion with new friends Darlene and Jeff who are very nice people.
Wrangell is a small working town that contains mostly fishing related business’s. It does have a single cruise ship dock that looks like smaller size cruise ships visit. You can only access Wrangell by sea or air.
Berg Bay To Wrangell
Up eastern passage around back side of Wrangell (saw airport) then arrived. Short cruise I only 42 miles or so. We went to the reliance float when we did not get radio contact but then were sent to heritage harbor (1 mile south of town) where the floats have electric.
Wrangell Heritage HarborWrangell Heritage Harbor
We had an easy tie up and shortly after in comes Grand QTR with Claudette and Bob! We were all happy to see each other. We all walked to town from marina and looked at a few shops.
Wrangell Down Town with terra, Patty, Bob and Claudette
We then split as they went back to boats and we went north of town past the cruise ship dock to the Petroglyph historical park. Along the way we saw this neat very intricate crab sculpture, on top of a large crab trap, in some ones front yard.
Neat Crab Sculpture
Saw some petroglyphs on the beach rocks. They don’t know who made them, lots of theories. Most of the glyph’s we found where down to the right of the steps going down to the beach a little below the tide line. They can be a bit hard to find and had to ask where to look when we got there.
PetroGlyph Park EntrancePetroGlyph Park Glyph
Back to town and boat for planned 5:30 cocktail hour and apps on our boat with Bob and Claudette. We planned to stay two nights and they one. Alex and I made crab cakes YUM!
We spent second day at Wrangell trying to fix thumping dryer. Took the thing out changed front rollers but thump still there. Must be back bearing. This description sounds easy but not much fun removing dryer from small cubby hole and workin on it is small hall way. 10 hour day of no progress. We decided to use until it dies and alex will fix suspect bearing or we will get a new dryer. Hope it lasts the summer.
June 8th Cruise up Clarence Strait to Meyer’s Chuck.
Meyer’s chuck has good AT&T cell phone service.
Kasaan To Myers chuck
There is no good chart for Myer’s Chuck so I included our track below. As the guide books state you just come in the bay sticking to the middle of the green and red markers at the entrance. You then turn south around the red marker and head over to the public dock at the south end. Has plenty of depth the whole way but this is a small harbour.
Myers Chuck Track
Had thought about staying two nights at Kassan to join a community fun run and maybe walk the logging roads but we decided to move on to Meyer’s Chuck
Cruise up Clarence strait. Saw a couple whales who disappeared quickly. Clear cut for about ½ way along the cruise on east side of the passage. Arrived at Meyer’s chuck and there was dock space, alex did a great job. Harmony Bay was there already. There is a nominal charge of 22 cents/foot for docking.
Myer’s Chuck Dock
We walked to two tiny short trails along the shore. Allowed dog swimming, checked out the gallery (alex bought a knit beanie hat), looked at the gallery operators beautiful home (used to be the school house and they bought it and renovated it…they live and have home in Mill Valley).
Myer’s Chuck To Right Of Dock, Trail To Local Art Gallery ShopGallery Keepers HouseGallery Art Shop, Cinnamin Bun Lady’s Phone Number On Wall Left Of Door
You can walk a little further down the trail past the Art Shop but it ends quickly.
End Of Trail To Right Past Shop
We then took the short hike down the trail to the left of the dock past the small portable log mill.
Trail To Left Of DockSign On Trail To Left Of DockEnd Of Trail Trail To Left Of Dock
Had cocktails on the boat with Barbara and Robert then dinner was leftover fish in sandwich form for alex and black bean soup for the two of us. DIARRHEA DOG…too much junk being eaten …hoping one bout is all! Leisurely morning the next day. Had fresh baked cinnamon rolls delivered by Cassie in her dinghy in baskets at 7 am. Order the day before!
Myers Chuck Cinnamin Bun Delivery 7 Am
June 9th – 10th Meyer’s Chuck to Berg Bay (Eastern Passage around Wrangell island)
Meyer’s Chuck to Berg Bay
Berg Bay has no cell phone service.
Later start around 10 am. First part of cruise finishing up Clarence strait (north end to round the curve eastward) was bit bumpy. Then eastward in Earnest Passage. Passed deer island (has some good anchorages on southwest side). Had a pod of Dal’s porpoise (AKA false killer whales) bow surf for an hour or so (and they dabbled in the wake too) so that was fun. Saw a whale breach far off in the distance…can’t wait to see these guys closer. Passed Anan Creek where the big bear watch is from July 5th through Aug 25th which must be when salmon are running. Turned up Blake Channel and arrived at Berg Bay around 4:30pm.
Dals Porpoises Off Bow
We went up all the way to head of the bay and anchored almost directly west of the USFS float in front of the cabin. When we checked in dinghy had deep water all around us so felt good with our short 120′ short scope in 50′ or so of depth. All the steep shore side you can see at waters edge dropped off steeply and the only shallow spots found where near the float or at the couple spots where there small spots with shallow slopes going in to the waters edge.
Berg Bay Anchor Track
Berg bay is only 15 -20 miles from Wrangell but very remote feeling and beautiful. There is a forest service cabin, a hike and beautiful setting with high mountains with green without trees on steep areas. Supposedly we might see mountain goats up the hillsides.
Berg Bay EntranceWater Dog At Beg Bay, USFS Float and A-Frame Cabin to The RightPhoto From Water Dog at Anchor, A-Frame Cabin in Trees Far Left, float To Right
Of course me worried about bears but still have not seen any. Lots of mosquito’s so if we hike we shall need bug spray and will use dogs bear bells and make noise! Need to be careful. Dogs make risk of attacks higher if they piss a bear off. Alex deployed two crab and one shrimp trap. Big catch on crab!
Holly At Berg Bay Water Fall
Berg Bay was beautiful. We rarely saw the mountain cause of rain and clouds. Alex deployed two crab and one shrimp trap. This resulted in 19 crab (?) and no shrimp. He got soaked as rained the entire time. We checked out the cabin and the boardwalk trail but did not walk due to rain and mosquitos.
Patty Admiring Good Crabbing Berg Bay
Would revisit in better weather. The last two outs involved dumping dogs on the forest service cabin float which was cleaner.
Kasaan turned out to be a very cool stop with a nice free public dock and where you can get a tour of the Long House etc which is supported by the Organized Village Of Kasaan. Make sure to visit the gift shop and the totem Trail Cafe down the board walk to the left, when you walk up the public dock, to help support the local economy. Once you get at the end of board walk just keep walking a bit longer down path to get to the tribal building with cafe. URL below with phone numbers etc to call for guided tour. Patty and I got a great private tour from Michael Chilton that was well worth the cost.
Shorter cruise maybe 30 miles. Up Tongas Narrows into Clarence strait then shortly thereafter left/westward turn into Kassan Bay. We ended up on the outside of dock but would recommend pulling in to the inside of the dock since a nasty chop seems to build up at the end of each day from the NW.
Water Dog At Kasaan Public DockKasaan Boardwalk To Left Of Public Dock
Kassan village had a cannery and some boom and bust periods with population of 500 with cannery and down to 4 in 1970’s when no one there. This is new kassan, old kassan is across bay and even local native guide not sure where it was or if anything left. In mid 1900’s old chief moved village and long house to new area. It subsequently went into disrepair but about 2 years ago the local tribe and governements restored it using as much of old timbers as possible. The totem pole out front and within the long houses are over 200 years old ie not replicas still in good shape from 1700’s amazing.
Michael Our Guide In front Of Long HouseTotem To Right In Long HouseTotem To Left In Long HouseOur Guide Michael Speaking In Long House
There were also several other old poles as we walked the mile or so through the woods to the long house.
Orca Totem
There is a small café, carving shed and tiny gift shop. There is another “tour” you can take via van to “Stormys” compound: a family compound with gardens etc. On dock we met Eric and commercial fisherman who is also an apprentice carver (we later found out he is sun of a master carver who I think is stormy). We ran into Nordic Tug Harmony Bay with Robert and Barbara again so said hello. Our guide was a young Tlingit native Michael. He was very artsy, musicial and spiritual. Did a good job on the tour. Explained along with some of Eric’s chat how there are 3 entities working the town and its hard to get them to work together: the tribe, the corporation of kassan and the organized city of Kassan. Apparently it was hard to get private land owner to allow them to reconstruct the long house on their site.
June 4rd Dixon Crossing Prince Rupert to Ketchikan 86 nm
Prince Rupert To Ketchikan Alsaska
I got up early around 4:45am or so. Alex followed. We disconnected electric, walked dogs, returned gate cards and shoved off at 5:45 am. Negotiated Venn Passage without difficulty, high tide going out and then a great ride to Ketchikan. Slight south wind, with tide current so over 9 knots most the way. Dixon entrance very mild, hit a squall which made water glass before it ran into us (going west to east). Pulled in to Ketcikan.
June 4,5,6th
Ketchikan 3 nights!
Planned to stay two but decided to stay three nights. We
have been pushing it a bit and time to try to enjoy more.
BC LightHouse North East Corner Dundas IslandWater Dog Bow at Ketchikan Bar Harbour South Marina
Ketchikan has 5 harbors, some open moorage which is first come first serve and then they use “hot docking” meaning put you in vacant slip (usually a fisherman’s) and it the fisherman returns you have to move. We decided to do Bar Harbor. Ended up on Bar harbor south, float 9 (has electric) and slip 34 which was a stern in starboard tie and had a nice view northward up the channel so we really liked this spot (ie could request again).
Settled in about 4pm or so. Walked almost to main town (tourist area) to dispensary to get insomnia treatments. Took the “high” road on the way back as walking up water street had a lot of traffic. Basically a board walk road through mixed neighborhoods then found stairway down down down to another street that ended up dumping us out at the marina. So nice long walk and had picked up supplies.
Downtown Ketchikan North Of Marina“High Road” Above Water FrontStairs Along “High Road”
Our first day was cloudy with some rain. Learning to always have rain coats. Left mid-morning and headed north and then up Carlanna Lake road. Walked up through neighborhoods then onto trail along lake.
Carlanna Lake Trail Head HikeCarlanna Lake Trail Hike
It then continued on up through the forest and we saw a few small waterfalls and some nice old growth cedar.
Carlanna Lake Old Growth Tree
Very pretty. We did not go the entire 2.5 miles up to the end of the trail. Dogs got to swim in lake so it was FUN!!!!
Dog Swim Carlanna Lake Dam
After exited lake we stayed up high in the neighborhood; took Fairview south til it connected with Jackson then down down down and the stairs from Jackson Ave dumped out right across from marina entrance NICE!.
Road bus to the park district with totem historic museum and park along Ketchikan creek. We worked our way back walking on park trails, married man’s trail, along/through Creek street (old red light district) then ended up at Thomas Basin (another harbor we could stay at would be more noisy as is right down town and much of day view would be cruise ships).
Patty At Top Of Married Man’s Trail Ketchikan Down Town Tourist Cruise Ship Shopping Area
Walked through town and quickly went through some shops. We had met a local woman at the bus stop who was in the lumberjack show (she throws the double headed ax). She had mentioned Annabelles as a bar and place locals eat and that it was connected to the Gilmore hotel (est 1869 or something like that). So we went there to check it out. Had cocktails (had to use the its five o’clock somewhere mantra) and a chowder sampler (which was YUM). Very friendly and talkative bartender Rick: he lives here year round (many don’t).
June 6th, last day in Ketchikan
Although the local we met mentioned considering Saxman village as a good place to see totem poles it seemed to be more touristy and for the cruise boats so decided to try Totem Bight State Park. Took the bus which allowed the DOGS! (the local had said well behaved dogs allowed on busses). Did the park and heard some of the stories of the totems from a cruise group guide.
Totem Bight State Park Totem #3Totem Bight State Park Long House
Then walked a mile or so south on tongass highway for maybe ½ mile the turned down Sunset drive and found Refuge Cove Recreation area: trail on the shore with beach access. Dogs got to swim and play. Not a sand beach: looked like broken up shale.
Refuge Cove Recreation Area
Got back 1pm or so after catching southbound silver line bus at Ward Cove. Filled boat with water, organized some things and installed Alaskan charts in Furano’s. Restful day and evening at home. Moving on tomorrow.
On our last night at twilight we got a neat rainbow in the gloom for a growing away present!
June 1st: ButeDale to Klewnuggit Inlet Provincial Marine Park 57 nm
June 2nd Klewnuggit to Prince Rupert 48 nm
Route ButeDale, Klewnuggit to Prince Rupert
Left dock around 7:45 am. Goal is to get ½ way up Grenville Channel (aka the ditch). Arrived around 2:45pm at Klewnuggit East Inlet anchorage.
Nice easy cruise up Grenville channel. Had to go through Wright sound which can be bad due to 9 bodies of water meeting at that point but twas easy. Did not see any big boats or even little boats until we got to Klewnuggit.
Went down around down to the end of the bay and back up the East Channel, narrow at entrance but plenty deep. Ended up anchoring in 60′ in the middle of the inlet since another boat was up at the head already. Nice mud/sand bottom with good holding.
KlewNuggit East Inlet AnchorageKlewnuggit Esat Inlet Sign at Entrance
Went up the inlet and snaked into east inlet anchorage. Beautiful. Alex put out crab traps (caught 2 but threw them back).
Alex Crabbing
We chilled and took a dinghy ride. No bear sightings but me worried about bears. Tough on dogs going to shore: barnacles if tide down at all. Woke up 5:15am. Strait to work no coffee. Retrieved crab traps, took dogs in, hoisted dinghy and anchor up and underway but 6:45am. Then coffee while cruising. Against tide a bit although should have been with north current relate to ebb from evening point. Saw a swimming dear weird. Nice cruisie with mild fog at one point, no sun. Apparently prince Rupert also is known as rainy Rupert.
June 2nd: Prince Rupert.
Stayed at Cow Bay Marina in Prince Rupert but be aware of the major currents that go straight through the marina. Had a pretty tough fight with the flood current of 2 knots when docking. I take a little float outside the marina to see how I am moving in current and make a plan how I will keep boat bow or stern pointing up current so I never get sideways to current. Got stuck sideways to metal outflow pipe down stream from dock when we first got the Nordic Tug many years ago, hopefully never again.
Prince Rupert Cow Bay Marina
Had a very nice stay in Prince Ruper with nice paths through town and hiking around the golf course with dog’s off leash when no golf players present.
Prince Ruppert is the last/first stop with customs when leaving/entering canadian waters. When entering from Alaska you get a slip at marina or pull up to customs dock where you call customs on the dedicated phones provided at the top of the docks.
We took a walk around town. The All trails map showed some trails in between streets and we ended up finding Hay’s Creek Trail which went along the creek for a mile or so.
Hay’s Creek Trail Start
Hay’s Creek Trail
Creek looked dirty so no dog swim. No Salmon. It ended up in a neighborhood and we kept going until we had to cut over on 4th street.
We ended up coming out at the local path start at the right corner of the Rona hardware store.
Local Path Start To right Of Rona HW Store
Walked by the Safeway and BC museum then down to waterfront park and back to the boat at Cow Bay Marina behind Atlin Terminal.
Prince Rupert Atlin Terminal
Raining hard now…rainy Rupert. Snuggled up with heat and dehumidifier on.
The next day we took a walk up through trail that goes up through town starting at the Sunken Gardens then up and around the golf course.
Left Shearwater maybe 9am… likely 9:30. Had a nice
cruised. Weather was so good we decided to take outside route which saves 12
miles (over an hour for us dogs). It was
a great wonderful day. We saw all things from a distance; whales, dal
porpoises, otters, eagles etc….Arrived and anchored. Anchoring became stressful
today. We moved 3 times but got “held” aka good holding on third attempt. It
just seemed to finally “catch” (See tomorrow AM log jam). Walked around the bay
and back. Baraka Bashad’s peops Rita and Vaughn came over for communal dinner…
a feast it was: good food and good new friends. I do like the people and we
will reach out again.
Klemtu Long House
Water Dog at Klemtu
So I need to do better about anchoring notes. Klemtu. SMALL! Cannot do proper scope ratio thing as 62 feet deep but only 200 feet wide. Not much wind or current so we were not worried enough to put on anchor watch. We were not assertive enough to get tour of the long house in Klemtu. All I had to do was try the vhf radio channel but it was after 4pm when we got there so I hesitated and did not do.
Klemtu Still Active Plant
On bringing up the anchor ended up with a large log on it so had to throw a line around one end of log, drop anchor down again from under neath and drop log off. In general if you can get the object up that is stuck on your anchor you can throw a line around it and drop your anchor to unfoul it. Was impressed our windlass brought the log up no problem.
Log On Anchor At Klemtu
May 31st Butedale
Arrive earliish as we left 7:45 AM. We had a log “jam” or delay due to hoisting a 10 foot long 2 foot diameter branching tree when anchor reached surface. Thought, executed plan and resolved (using anchor bridle)…but likely added 15 minutes to the day. Saw some nice waterfalls on the way to Butedale.
Water Fall Klemtu To Butedale
Anyhow I’d say we got here around 1pm at the latest. Docking was ok as usual. Wind, current boats to hit some fun! Had to do port tie. Alex did amazing per usual. All good. Other boat friends ran aground wedging boat between two rocks. We thought this boat had a keel but twas very small keel so Alex and Christof (the wharfinger) pulled them off with caretakers dingy. FYI Christof’s wife is Cameo, dog Shibu inu didn’t remember name. Butedale has put in a new dock and ramp so a good place to dock up for a day or two.
Butedale New Ramp and Dock
Beautiful waterfall next to dock but not visible while on dock. Walked the long abandoned cannery grounds. The place is a work in progress and Christof is working hard with his large back hoe and dozer to clean up the place. All has been torn down except one large (impressive) building and two small cabins. They are “renovating” property and it has been bulldozed to burry debris. Lots of seeps that look like they have oil or gas contamination. Lots of metal out of ground.
ButeDale View Up Dock
Butedale Cannery Building
Butedale Old Picture-1
Butedale Old Picture-2
The wood beams used in the cannery are pretty amazing huge 50′ long monsters!
Cannery Interior
Took a walk down and around cannery then up back to old water driven generator plant but cannot walk to see waterfall but can go to the old mill house. As Kathy Smith had mentioned as soon as get away from the dock swarmed by flies and mosquitoes.
As we walked through all the old equipment was thinking it would be nice to know what all the some what strange looking pieces where used for, was hard to tell.
Shed Outside Cannery
Old Cannery Equipment
Cannery Storage Bins?
Two Cabins Top Of Hill
Old Water Driven Generation Plant
Also rained afternoon and evening. Rita and Vaughn had us over for dinner (turkey burgers) and we chatted a bit. Then they came over for a bit to look at weather Alex can down load to see what day may be good for their Haida Gwaii crossing. Looks like Tuesday will be best day for us and them to do our respective crossings (us to Ketchikan or Foggy bay and them to Haida Gwaii).
May 27th and 28th Pruth Bay and Shear Water May 29th
Pruth Bay is a dont miss stop with nicely maintained hiking trails with board walks to seven beautiful white sand beaches, dog heaven!
Track Fury Cove To Pruth Bay Then Town Of Shearwater
Left port around 11:30 am. Hoisted anchor and set course north up Queen Charlotte Strait. Light wind on our stern and some current, clear skies, lovely cruise. Left turn into strait that ends at Pruth Bay and the Hakai institute.
Pruth Bay Hakai Institute Dock
Hakai Institute Info
Hakai Institute Main Building
Beautiful resort with ½ a dozen cabins and main house/kitchen with well kept grounds. Now a research facility. They share there wifi and allow dinghy dock use. Nice. As usual we anchored far away, bit crowded nearer in, from the docks so long dinghy ride.
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Brought dogs in and took hike to west and north beach. Wonder sand beaches, clear water, many islets and lots of drift wood. Walked both beaches and it was so beautiful. Dogs had a blast. Back to boat and had burger and cabbage for dinner.
Hakai Trail Map
The West Beach trail starting behind the main building takes you to the central beach. Once at west Beach take a right to go to North Beach and a left to go to 2dn through 7th beaches, see map above.
Start Of West Beach Trail
West Beach Trail
Nicely Done Outhouse West Beach Trail
Walked both West and North beaches and it was so beautiful. Dogs had a blast. Back to boat and had burger and cabbage for dinner. Very unique topography here.
North Beach Trail
North Beach Trail
Holly And Terra Trail To North Beach
North Beach
North Beach
We were thinking of going to Shearwater May 28th but decided we liked it so much and there was another hike that we decided to stay. Took dogs in for morning “out”, had breakfast at boat and then around 12 or so headed back to shore. Did the south beach hike which goes along 2nd to 7th beaches. Cool hike and dogs of course got to swim and romp and eat dead things. The trail heads in to and out of each beach are marked with jug’s in the trees and most have a tsunami warning sign, help full is finding the trails from beach. The trails get a bit rougher as you make yoyr way out to 7th beach at the end. We did find a trail heading out from 7th beach but was too steep for Terra so we turned around.
Trail To 2nd Beach
2nd Beach
Beach Trail Head
7th Beach
Trail Off End Of 7th Beach, Getting Steep!
We found some wolf tracks on one of the beaches and a whale carcass. Picture below large paw print on left is Wolf we believe, to the right is Hollie’s “small” foot print a 60 pound lab.
Wolf Paw Print?
Lots of eagles about as well with juveniles and adults. Got back around 3:30. Tried to call mom with wi fi calling but not good reception. Called on Sat phone and had a quick hello goodbye and love you call as the delay makes it hard to talk. Tomorrow to Shearwater apparently the best place to stop before prince Rupert to supply up and stay at a marina. Will do laundry if we get plugged in (which is the plan)
May 29th Shearwater, Shearwater Marina amongst
new bella and old bella bella (now a coast guard station).
Passing Bella Bella On Way To ShearWater
ShearWater Sign
Water Dog At ShearWater Marina Docks
Not impressed sorry. Great Marine store. Great Grocery Store, Super nice restaurant with out side seating and nice grassy area. Need to get more trustworthy of dog owners to not ruin grass but maybe they know. They should have a welcoming green dog area. We paid for two nights but decided one was enough. We had an enjoyable stay and when we decided go from 2 to one nights they were kind enough to refund the 2nd day no questions asked. Thank you.
We did find a nice short hike on the Spirit Trail through the woods right above town which we took with Rita on Baraka Bashad and Darlene on the Krogen Mona Kai.
